A Lesson By Sunrise

I came across this photo on my phone recently, and a memory came flooding back of the day that I took it.

It had been one of THOSE mornings. Where everybody overslept, nobody could find clean socks, and a full bowl of milk and cereal crashed to the kitchen floor, shattering into a million pieces.

Where the kids moved a little too slowly.

Where I yelled a little too much.

Getting three kids off to three different schools every morning was never easy, but that day was especially rough, and by the time we all piled into the car, everyone was in a bad mood…especially me.

The car ride along the wooded, winding road to town was silent and tense, and I felt terrible that my kids were going off to school on such a sour note.

And then…

I saw it before they did.

As our car rounded the harbor, there in all its glory, was a sunrise so spectacular, it nearly took my breath away.

Without a second thought, I turned and pulled the car off the road.

“Mom! Why are you stopping?? We’re going to be so late!”

“Get out of the car,” I told them. “School will still be there in five minutes. THIS will not. We’re starting today over, all of us, right now.”

And so we did, huddled together at the edge of the water, watching the majestic colors change minute by minute. And as those colors changed, somehow so did our moods.

Because it was impossible to watch the scene unfolding before us and not let go of some of the stress.

It was impossible to not be humbled by the sheer beauty of it.

I think it’s important to teach kids to be on time. But that day, it was more important to teach them that sometimes, in life, we just need a reset button.

That sometimes, the most important thing you can do is take a few minutes to clear your head, or calm your soul.

And when the opportunity arises, to stop for a minute and just simply be grateful for the beauty that surrounds us.